A Second Chance
by Yume No Daka E
Summary: Four years has passed since our heroes have seperated. Some have moved on while others still dwell on the past until one fateful day reunites these star crossed lovers. Sometimes life offers you a second chance. Not your typical Escaflowne fic. L+H


Disclaimer: You know the drill¡­I don¡¯t own, you don¡¯t sue, and everyone lives a jolly life. 

Chapter One: Destined Trip

¡°I can¡¯t believe you dragged me all the way out here to climb this thing,¡± Yukari exclaimed looking up at the sharp gray rocks sticking out of the side of the mountain. 

¡°We¡¯ve been planning to climb ¡®this thing¡¯ for over two month now,¡± Amano reminded her, putting on his helmet. 

¡°Come on ¡®Kari,¡± Hitomi laughed while testing out the ropes that would prevent her from falling. ¡°Cheer up. It¡¯s gonna be fun.¡±

¡°Fun?¡± she almost screamed. ¡°You call climbing a 1000 foot mountain with nothing but a rope to prevent you from falling into your death, fun? Well excuse me if I plan to live past my 21th birthday.¡± 

¡°Fine then, you can just wait here or go back to the jeep,¡± Hitomi gave her friend a mocking smile. 

¡°And wait for some wild animal to pounce on me? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± she placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Hey wait!¡± she called out after her friends when she saw that they were ignoring her and have already started to climb. ¡°Guys! Wait for me!¡± she grabbed onto the closest stable gravel and started after her friends. ¡°I swear you, guys are going to owe me bad after this.¡± 

As a reply, Amano dug his foot into a soft spot and sent crumbs of dirt flying down. 

¡°Hey! That¡¯s not funny!¡± Yukari yelled at him. Her remark only caused the two advanced climbers to laugh harder. ¡®The things I do for friendship,¡¯ she thought shaking her head and recommenced her pursuit. 

***

Amano had been bugging Hitomi and Yukari about an outdoor rock climbing trip for over two months now. After the girls made him sit through a 6-hour sad chick flick marathon, he managed to guilt them into agreeing on the expedition. Having packed enough food to feed a starving army for a week, the trio set out on a 4-hour drive from their home in the city to the great out doors. The weather was perfect for their outing. The sun shone brightly in the sky, providing the climbers with warmth, and a refreshing breeze prevented them for heat exhaustion. It was just they, Mother Nature and some occasional complaints.

¡°Don¡¯t you think we should head back now?¡± Yukari yelled to her friends who were a good few feet above her. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re going to have to climb down eventually. This seems like a good spot; I say we call it a day.¡±

¡°Kari, your such a wuss!¡± her brown haired friend stopped and waited for her to catch up. ¡°It¡¯s only been half an hour!¡±

¡°Fine, then can we please rest for a little while?¡± she begged whipping some sweat from her forehead. ¡°I¡¯m a city girl; I can only take so much all stuff at once.¡± 

Hitomi rolled her eyes at her best friend and looked up at Amano who was still advancing. ¡°Hey Amano, wuss here needs a time out.¡±

¡°Okay, you guys take your time. I¡¯m gonna keep on going.¡±

Yukari followed her friend¡¯s gaze, and then smiled mischievously. ¡°You really get a great view from this spot.¡± 

¡°Yeah I know,¡± Hitomi agreed looking out to the surrounding. Miles and miles of green land encircled them. From their height, they could clearly see the contour of the long sparking river that separated the forest in two. It really felt good to escape the noises and people of the busy city. She made a mental note to come out more often. 

¡°That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Yukari continued to giggle. She nudged the other girl on the side and pointed upwards.

Hitomi followed her direction and saw exactly what she meant. ¡°Yukari!¡± she gasped, ¡°you and your dirty mind.¡± Despite her embarrassment, she laughed loudly. It wasn¡¯t a big surprised that her best friend preferred the view of a guys rear end to a bunch of threes. In fact, Yukari has been like this for as long as she could remember. She was always the girl who loved to joke around with guys, but never really seemed completely taken with anyone in particular. Amano was no different. ¡®I guess that¡¯s just the way Yukari is,¡¯ she thought, ¡®wide and carefree.¡¯ That sort of explains why they were such good friends. The two of them completed each other, being what the other always wanted to be but never dared. That was the key to friendship. 

Yukari noticed the dazed look on her faced and teased, ¡°You can¡¯t hide it; I know you were thinking of it too. You¡¯re not exactly Miss innocence.¡±

¡°Shut up!¡± Hitomi blushed and slapped her arm almost making the girl lose her balance. 

¡°Hey watch it!¡± she screamed grabbing onto her ropes for dear life. ¡°You could have killed me right then! You know I¡¯m not great with balancing myself, what makes you think I¡¯ll do any better standing only on a little piece of rock!¡±

¡°This thing?¡± Hitomi teased back. ¡°Hum¡­I wonder.¡± She placed a finger on her bottom lip, pretending to think. ¡°What would you do if I suddenly¡­well lets say¡­slipped?¡± As soon as the word left her mouth, she moved her foot from its firm position on the rock. She bent her knees, making it seem like she was lilting backwards and pretended to slip. She knew Yukari would be too freaked to notice the fact that her hand was still grabbing tightly onto rock above them. 

¡°AAHHH!!!¡± Yukari¡¯s scream echoed through the mountains. ¡°Oh my god,¡± she said when she realized that her friend was just playing a joke on her. ¡°Hitomi Kanzaki! Don¡¯t you dare ever do that to me again! Do you hear me? You nearly gave me a heart attack! Just how do you think I¡¯ll be able to survive through college on my own?¡±

Hitomi laughed so hard that her eyes were beginning to water. ¡°You should have seen the look on your face!¡± she managed to say.

¡°Are you guys okay?¡± Amano called from above. ¡°I heard someone scream.¡±

¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Yukari answered in annoyed voice. ¡°Hitomi here was just trying to scare the hell out of me.¡± She stared at her friend out of the corner of her eye, then an idea stuck her. She smiled evilly knowing just how pissed off Hitomi was going to be. The girl was still to busy laughing to notice. ¡°Oh by the way Amano,¡± said Yukari in a sweet voice, ¡°Hitomi wanted to know if you¡¯ve been working out because your butt looks really nice from down here.¡± It was her turn to crack up.

¡°Yukari!¡± Hitomi snapped out of her hysterical state feeling her cheeks burn up. ¡°Amano, I swear that was all her!¡±

Amano just laughed at her awkwardness and left the two girls to solve their problems alone. 

***

Hitomi packed up the rest of her gear and headed towards the jeep. She threw her bad into the back and hopped into the set waiting for her friends to catch up. It sure had been an exciting day and the climb itself was only half of it. Yukari and she teased each other the whole way up and down the mountain. By the end, she felt more exhausted verbally then physically. She couldn¡¯t help but notice how Amano repeatedly turned back to check on them making sure that they haven¡¯t killed each other yet. She liked to think that he was looking at her every time he smiled. A dreamy smile slowly crept cross her face, but she quickly hid it as she heard her friends approaching.

Turning her head, she waved and was ready to yell at Yukari to get in the car. Instead, somewhere along the way, the words lost its energy and came out more like a whisper. It was partially because she saw that her friend wasn¡¯t paying any attention to her, but the main reason had to be the object of her friend¡¯s attention. Amano was standing close to her, maybe a little too close. They two of them seemed too preoccupied with some joke Yukari made to notice her. Hitomi watched it shock as he bent down to whisper something in her ear. Yukari rolled her eyes, pushed him away then playfully giggled, running towards the car. ¡°What was that all about?¡± Hitomi asked when she sat down beside her. 

¡°What?¡± she asked purposely misunderstanding. ¡°Oh him,¡± she turned her head to Amano who packing the last few bags into the trunk. ¡°He¡¯s just being weird again.¡± She waved her hands gesturing that it was no big deal. ¡°I think it¡¯s that time of month again.¡±

Despite her awkward mood, Hitomi smiled at her friend¡¯s joke. She watched the object of her admiration take his seat in the front. He took out his keys from his pocket and turned to give her one of his charming smiles. ¡°So you ready to leave?¡± 

She nodded, turning her head away blushing. Had he caught her staring at him? 

¡°Well, what are you waiting for?¡± she heard her friend ask. Yukari out up from her seat, leaned front trying to get the keys from his hands. ¡°If your not going to drive, then I will!¡± 

¡°Calm down woman. I¡¯m hurrin¡¯, I¡¯m hurrin¡¯!¡±

¡°Yeah Amano, you¡¯d better get a move on. With Yukari at the wheel, she¡¯ll probably drive us off a cliff.¡±

¡°Hey I¡¯m not that bad!¡±

The rest of the drive was a smooth one with the three friends continuing to crack jokes.

***

Amano nailed the last nail into the soil and stood back to admire his work from a distance. There, at the foot of the forest, stood a large yellow tent firmly attached to the ground. Beside it was another version of the same tent only relatively smaller. He looked back to the girls who were still unpacking their supplies for the night. Hitomi was busy loading and unloading things from the jeep as if not sure if they necessarily need them. Her should length chestnut hair was tide back into a loose ponytail. It swung from side to side as she ran back and forth between the jeep and the fire. It was obviously her first time spending the night out in the wilderness and seemed uncertain as to what to do. 

Yukari on the other side stood very near to ragging fire. She held a spray can in each hand as she continued to frantically spray her body and the air around her. Amano couldn¡¯t help but to smile seeing the look of disgust and worry on her face. He knew that she had never been much of an out doors person and was grateful when she finally agreed to accompany them on the trip. She kept on insisting that the only reason she gave in was because Hitomi blackmailed her into coming, but he knew that she had her own reasons behind it. 

As he continued to watch her, her eyes caught his own. She stopped her movements and stared back wonderingly. For a split second, her thought that he had seen something sparkle in her eyes, but he wasn¡¯t allowed much time to reflect on it. 

¡°Wow, great job!¡± Hitomi exclaimed finally realizing that he¡¯d finished his job. ¡°That was quick too.¡±

¡°Don¡¯t get too excited yet.¡± Yukari warned, going back to her spraying. ¡°Make him test it out so it doesn¡¯t fall on us while we¡¯re sleeping.¡±

¡°It¡¯s nice to know that you have so much confidence in me,¡± he remarked. ¡°And what are you doing anyways?¡± he asked pointing at her hands.

¡°Argh! The bugs! I swear to god; they¡¯re all over me!¡± she yelled, swinging her hands in the air, battling some unseen force. ¡°By the end of this trip, I¡¯m going to be all red and swollen from these damn bugs bites! Argh! Get away from me! Get away from me!¡± she ran around are in wild circles.

Hitomi rolled her eyes and made her way to the front of the tents. ¡°Please tell me we brought some Tylenol,¡± she joked rubbing her temples, ¡°cause I have a feeling that I¡¯ll be needing some.¡±

Amano laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I came well prepared.¡± He turned his eyes towards the fire. ¡°We¡¯ll be needing much more wood if the fire continues to eat it up like that. I guess that¡¯s what you get when you use dead dry woods.¡±

¡°You stay here,¡± said Hitomi, ¡°I¡¯ll go look for more wood.¡±

¡°Nah, I¡¯d better go.¡±

¡°No, you stay here. I¡¯ve got a much better sense of direction than you. And plus, we need you to double check the tents.¡±

He placed his hands on his chest and pretended to look offended. ¡°Cheeze Hitomi, I thought at least you¡¯d trust me. Thanks a lot.¡±

¡°Hey I don¡¯t want to have the roof falling over my head in the middle of the night neither. I might not complain as much as Kari, but I do value my life too,¡± she laughed. ¡°As the old saying says ¡®You can never be too careful¡¯.¡± She waved goodbye and headed into the dense forest. 

***

The sun had just set as the last hint of light disappeared over the mountains. Hitomi quickened her pace, not wanting to stay in the forest too long after dark. She had never been too fond of wandering in the wilderness at night. There was always the possibility of getting lost or running into some hungry animal. The thought caused Goosebumps to form on the surface of her skin, despite the warm summer air. Suddenly, something firm caught onto her right foot, causing her body to tilt forward. Hitomi cursed as her body hit the ground, and the wood in her arms scattered in all directions. Turning back, she saw that it was an over grown tree root that caught her foot. She wiggled free from the trap and was grateful to feel no intense pain coming from her leg. 

¡®Maybe it was a stupid idea offering to come get wood,¡¯ she thought as she gathered up the fallen logs. The night was falling fast making Hitomi wish that she was back safe at their campsite. ¡®At least the moon¡¯s out.¡¯ She looked up at the sky, smiling at the presence of the full moon. 

However the smile quickly disappeared from her face as she realized for the first time tonight that there was something unusual. Instead of one bright white moon hanging in the sky, there were two of them; only one was relatively larger and shaded in blue. They stood close together, one behind the other, enveloped in a mystic glow. It felt like they were calling out to her, drawing her in by the second. ¡°Gaia¡­¡± she murmured unconsciously. The word seemed so foreign as it escaped her lips. 

¡°What am I thinking?¡± Hitomi snapped out of her daze and shook her head furiously. ¡°I¡¯m seeing things again,¡± she said out loud, laughing to herself. The sound gradually died out as silence once again spread over her body. Reluctantly, she turned her face up towards the sky. ¡®I had to be dreaming,¡¯ she tried to convince herself. ¡®It isn¡¯t possible. Earth has only one moon¡­¡¯ 

A sigh of relief echoed through the forest. The sky, covered with different shades of blue, held nothing but stars and a bright white circle. The blue planet that was there a second ago, seemed to have disappeared, leaving everything back to normal. ¡°It was all just my imagination,¡± smiled Hitomi. ¡°Maybe I should check up with my therapist again.¡± 

It had been 5 years since her strange and mysterious disappearance. After returning, Hitomi¡¯s mom insisted that she took therapy sessions to ¡®heal¡¯ her mental instabilities. Because of that, she missed one year of school and was seen as an outsider by all of her former friends. All but Yukari and Amano. The two of them has stayed by her side throughout the whole recovering stage. They supported her when she was weak and helped her find herself again. As a result, the three of them grew even closer. 

Hitomi tightened her hold on the dozen of fresh logs that she had collected. She smiled thinking of just how impressed her friends will be when she returns to the campsite. They have always done so much for her; she was glad to be able to begin returning the favor. Hitomi tried to suppress the smile but it only grew larger as her thought concentrated on Amano. ¡®Amano senpai,¡¯ she whispered softly. She missed calling him that for he had insisted on her calling him ¡®Amano¡¯. He said that they were no longer kids and didn¡¯t need all the formalities. He said it made him sound foreign and that ¡®Amano¡¯ would make him feel closer to her. She was absolutely overjoyed by his remark. She secretly hoped that there was some deeper meaning behind it. Maybe he was hinting at something or trying to give her a clue about his feelings? Whatever it was, she couldn¡¯t wait to find out. And now that she had finally graduated high school, she has moved out of the house to join him and Yukari at college. College, a time for new experiences, new beginnings and a new life. And maybe, just maybe, she might find the courage to confess her feelings for Amano.

***

¡°Yukari!¡± Amano yelled over his shoulder, ¡°will you stop with all that spraying? Come here and gimme a hand!¡± He waited several minutes but there was still no movement from her part. He shook his head and sighed frustrated. Getting up from his knees, he turned over and searched his surroundings for the young woman. He found her on her hands and knees, sparing something on the ground. ¡°What are you doing now?¡± he asked a little impatient, gradually making his way towards her.

¡°SSSsssshhhhh,¡± she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. ¡°There¡¯s some kind of big underground insect organization going on here.¡± She broke away for a second, searching for something on the ground. ¡°Ah ha!¡± she exclaimed when she picked up what appeared to be a small tree branch. She gave off a mechanically evil laugh and poking a hole on the ground. ¡°Die! Die! Die!¡± she laughed as she continued to stab and spray. 

¡°Has anyone ever told you that you¡¯re a horrible human being?¡± Amano asked, unable to hide the amusement in his voice anymore. ¡°Bugs have a right to live too.¡±

¡°Yeah well I¡¯m just protecting myself,¡± she answered without looking at him. ¡°Just wait till you fall asleep, then they¡¯ll come out and feast on your body.¡± She stabbed harder.

¡°Don¡¯t you think your being a little paranoid?¡± he laughed at the determined look on her face.

¡°No¡­I¡¯m just-AH!!!¡± She didn¡¯t have time to finish her sentence, for she jumped back and threw the stick away as if it was on fire. 

¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Amano asked, running towards her. 

¡°Ew, ew, ew, ew, they were climbing onto my stick. Ew, they were everywhere,¡± she yelled. She jumped up and down, waving her one hand in the air. ¡°Ew, get it off me! Get it off me!!!¡±

¡°That¡¯s it,¡± the tall brown haired man said, ¡°You¡¯ve done enough killing for one night. Give me the spray.¡± He leaned forward and attempted to reach for the bug spray. 

¡°No mine!¡± Yukari sheltered the can with her body. The two of them continued to fight over the almost empty spray can. Amano wrapped arms around her body as he tried to reach for item from both sides. It wasn¡¯t an easy task for she had it securely bind between her body and her arms. The more he pushed, the more she leaned forward, taking his own body alone with her. The two of them laughed and wiggled, neither willing to give into the other. ¡°Stop digging into my ribs!¡± she managed to yell between the laugher and gasps of air. 

¡°I can¡¯t help it!¡± he yelled back. ¡°Just give me the freaking thing!¡±

¡°Never! Let me go or I¡¯ll scream!¡±

¡°Never!¡±

¡°Fine! RAPE! RAPE! SOMEBODY HELP ME! RAPE! RAPE! RA-mmmmmmm¡±

Alert by her outburst, Amano placed one hand onto her mouth, ¡°okay, okay, I¡¯ll stop!¡± he gave up, ¡°just stop screaming.¡± However, Yukari was not so gullible. He had tried this trick on her many times before. She continued to moan and struggle. Finally, she lost her balance by stepping onto a wet spot on the earth; she fell to the ground, taking him along with her. Their bodies hit the ground with a loud ¡°THUD!¡± and the couple broke down in hysterical laughter still wrapped up in the tight embrace. Yukari laughed until her stomach ached and her eyes became watery. It wasn¡¯t until tears started to roll down her cheek that she noticed Amano was no longer laughing. She turned her face towards him, meeting his hazel colored eyes with her own ruby ones. The smile disappeared from her face as she saw his serious glare penetrating her body. She could feel the veins in her neck threatened to pop out of her skin as it pounced to the beat of her heart. His face gradually descended towards her, until his eyes were the one thing in her view and his lips were the only thing she felt. 

His kiss was urgent and hot, demanding her attention. His mouth feasted on her own, devouring them like a starved man. It didn¡¯t take long before she began responding with just as must passion. In a heartbeat, Yukari found herself lying on the ground, her hands barred deeply into his hair. His hands ran up and down her body, ravishing her with attention. Her body ached out for him, screaming for more. It wasn¡¯t until his lips left hers to whisper her name into her ear that Yukari suddenly came to realize what kind of situation they were in. She was in a major make out session, in the middle of the forest, with the object of her best friend¡¯s obsession. Not good.

¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Amano asked, looking puzzled when she abruptly pulled away. ¡°You okay?¡± 

¡°We can¡¯t be doing this,¡± she ran her hands nervously through her hair. Her heart was still pounding as if she had just ran a marathon and her could still taste the sweet flavor of his lips on her swollen ones. ¡°This isn¡¯t right. There¡¯s too many things going on, and I¡­¡± She stopped when she noticed that he wasn¡¯t paying attention to her words anymore. Following her gaze, she turned around to see her best friends standing at the foot of the forest with a painfully shocked look on her face. ¡°Oh my god,¡± Yukari raised her hand to her mouth, ¡°Hitomi, I can explain.¡± 

But the girl didn¡¯t wait to hear another word. She turned and ran straight back into the forest, throwing the logs in her hand away carelessly. Yukari chased right after her while mentally cursing at herself for being so stupid. How could she have let her feelings get to her like that. She could have chosen to make out with any random guy. Why did she have to choose Amano now? She just had to go and waist all those 5 years of hard work. Everyone would have been fine if she kept her mouth to herself. Hitomi and Amano could have gotten together, and nobody had to know about her feelings. Now everything was out; everything was messed up. ¡°God, what was I thinking?¡± she asked out loud, still running after her friend. She was quickly loosing sight of the other, much faster girl. ¡°Hitomi stop!¡± she yelled with all her might. 

Hitomi could hear Yukari calling out to her but she didn¡¯t listen; she just kept on running. Her vision was clouded by the tears in her eyes making it hard to see where she was heading. ¡®I wish I can just fade away,¡¯ she thought, ¡®If I disappeared, then maybe this pain in my chest will disappear too.¡¯ As those thought ran through her mind, she felt the ground beneath her go loose. Hitomi let out a piercing scream as her feet lost all contact with the ground around her. There was nothing but air around her; nothing but air to stop her from falling into the bottomless pit; nothing but a feather. 

***Okay, this our first continuation and attempt to co-write a story so be gentle on us. What did you think? Is it good? If it is, please review 

elfboylover: but if it isn¡¯t please keep quiet. 

Bishouji: See I told you she is scary! SSShhh!! You¡¯re scarying all the readers away! *Glares*

Elfboylover: *goes off mumbling*

Bishouji: REVIEW!!!!

And until next time¡­.


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